


Watch for Me

by NyxDeLaNuit



Category: Gake no Ue no Ponyo | Ponyo
Genre: Angst, Complicated Relationships, Developing Relationship, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Friends to Lovers, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-16
Updated: 2018-08-16
Packaged: 2019-06-28 04:00:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,964
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15699732
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NyxDeLaNuit/pseuds/NyxDeLaNuit
Summary: Fourteen years have passed since Ponyo became a human, but now she's questioning everything she gave up for Sousuke. After weeks of not seeing Sousuke, the pair fight on his first night home and Ponyo is left wondering how he feels about her. Seeking a place to call her own, she escapes to the sea. Sousuke is desperate to reach her, but she won't answer his messages.





	Watch for Me

The sun shone through the window, cast a faint blue by the drapes shadowing the window. Ponyo laid awkwardly on her bed, her head hanging off the edge while her hair cascaded down to the floor. Her feet tapped rhythmically on the wall as she stared, upside down at the clock. A salt-scented breeze blew through the stagnant summer air, the only sound besides the ceaseless ticking of the clock. A soft sigh escaped Ponyo’s lips.

In the past dozen or so years, summer has always been Ponyo’s favorite season. Sousuke had loads of free time to spend with her, school was out, and the weather was always perfect for the two of them to go on adventures on their cliff.

Now Sousuke has left her for the summer, sailing with his father and learning the trade. Lisa had been sympathetic to Ponyo’s yearning and tried to distract her from the silence of the house, but no chores lasted between the two strong-headed women for very long and Lisa enjoyed calm nights to herself.

So summer had dragged on. Ponyo acquainted herself with every inch of the island, even those that she had not dared to explore with Sousuke at her side. Each discovery felt hollow without her constant companion by her side, and she couldn’t help but wonder if he felt similar out on the sea without her.

The clock struck five, bringing Ponyo out of her daze. Sousuke and Koichi should be home tonight. She could hear Lisa downstairs, likely washing up to make their dinner as she had every night for the past fourteen years. Ponyo rolled off the bed, legs over head, before straightening out her wrinkled dress. Her hair fell long and wavy down to her waist, slightly tangled from her day in bed. Sousuke always told her how beautiful her hair was to him, like waves in the sunset. At that thought, Ponyo’s face grew hot. She had always loved Sousuke, but as they grew older, they were unsure as to what kind of love they were supposed to share. They grew up, side by side, not siblings, not just friends. School had provided a welcome distraction to the questioning of their relationship, but now Ponyo had nothing but time to dwell on that and that alone.

“Ponyo, can you come help me please?” Lisa’s voice carried up the stairs. Ponyo shook her head, willing the thoughts in her head away as she sprung down the stairs.

“Whatcha need, Lisa?” Ponyo grinnned at the slender woman as she busied herself with making sure the water on the stove didn’t boil over. Lisa’s arms were full of leafy greens and other ingredients for their meal. She set the excess on the counter, dumping the greens in the water and stirring them gently. Ponyo shimmied out of her way.

“Koichi just called me from the harbor, him and Sousuke are on their way back now. Can you set the table so that we can all eat as soon as they get in?” Lisa’s attention stayed on the stove as she deftly prepped the remaining ingredients. A short ‘mhm’ and a nod from Ponyo, and she drifted around the kitchen gathering plates and silverware.  
As Ponyo finished off the settings, she heard the familiar click of the door opening.

“Sousuke!” she cheered, her face flushed with happiness. She pranced to the door, expecting to throw herself onto her friend as she had done many times before. Koichi had other plans, scooping her up into his arms.

“There’s my girl! I missed you my little baluga.” he snickered into her hair as he twirled her around. Ponyo giggled as she was swept around.

“I’m not a little girl anymore Koichi!” she squealed

“But you’ll always be his little baluga.” A voice from the door chided.

“Better than being his little manatee, Sousuke.” Ponyo wormed from Koichi’s hold and into the waiting arms of her closest friend. She leaned back to look at him now, quite different than the little boy she had taken a liking to in her youth. He was far more tan from the days out on sea, his hair shaggy and windswept out of his eyes. Slight stubble grazed her cheek as she nuzzled into his shoulder, savoring the familiar warmth. Their reunion was cut short as Lisa called out from the kitchen, beckoning them for dinner.

 

* * *

 

As much as things had changed throughout the years, many things had also stayed the same. One of those being the comfortable exhaustion Ponyo felt after Lisa’s filling dinners. She once again sprawled across her bed, Sousuke coming to sit on the corner. He pulled his leg up to his chest, staring at her fondly.

“How was your summer, Yoyo?” he asked softly, the setting summer sun tinting his hair an ethereal orange. Warmth surged through Ponyo at the nickname he used when they were alone.

“Boring,” she whined, “you were off on your summer adventure without me, and I had to explore everything I’ve already seen.” A pout painted Ponyo’s face with displeasure. “I want to hear about your adventure, Sousuke.” Nothing sounded sweeter to her ears than his name, as much as he wanted a nickname of his own.

Sousuke spent the remainder of the evening telling her the amazing things he saw with his father, how hard he worked, and about the other people on the boat. He showed her the callouses on his hands from handling the rope from dawn til dusk, and Ponyo wished she could once again heal all the minor cuts and scrapes that littered his hands. A yawn tore through Ponyo as the setting sun disappeared from her window, swallowed into the sea. Darkness flooded their room as Ponyo fought against her eyes. She needed more time with him today, she couldn’t fall asleep yet.

Sousuke chucked as a soft snore interrupted his stories. He covered Ponyo in a blanket, fluffy like the towel she rarely let go of as a child. His parents talked about getting them separate rooms as they grew older, but Ponyo always ended up in his bed, even late into their teens as they were. His parents finally gave up, giving them separate beds in the same room and hoping for the best. Sousuke crept up from Ponyo’s bed, hoping that he could sneak to his side of the room without waking her.

As exhausted as he was, Sousuke couldn’t fall asleep. He had missed the comforts of his home while he was out, and all he wanted to do was play a game or two and fall asleep to the insanity that was late night game shows. He was quickly enthralled, forgetting about the girl laying a few feet from him.

Ponyo woke to the loud screaming of an audience on the shared television of their room. She scrunched up her face in annoyance as the noise grew louder, and Sousuke chuckled at the antics of the show.

“Sousuke, turn it off.” She grumbled, grabbing her blanket and making her way to Sousuke’s bed. Sousuke’s eyes drifted to the side guiltily as he rubbed his neck.

“Sorry, Yoyo. I’ll turn it down.” He got up, trying to redirect her back to the comfort of her own bed.

“Just turn it off and let me sleep next to you.” She pouted, annoyed that he had yet to give in.

“Not tonight, Yoyo, I want to stay up for awhile. Plus it will be nice to be able to stretch out after the cramped bunks on the ship.” He continued to push her back to her bed, more insistant now. Ponyo’s temper flared at his disregard.

“That’s not my fault, I didn’t want you to go anyway.” she spat. A hurt look crossed Sousuke’s face briefly.

“Yoyo, we’re not kids anymore. I promised I’d take care of you and I need to make sure that I can still do that when mom and dad can’t help us anymore.” he said softly, urging Ponyo to lay down. She pushed against him.

“So you’ll just leave all the time like Koichi? Make me stay home like Lisa? You’ve had a front row seat to why that’s not a good idea, Sousuke. Every night he doesn’t come home on time, she’s either sad or angry at him.” Ponyo rubbed at her face before looking up into Sousuke’s eyes. When had he gotten taller than her?

“I’m doing this for you!” Sousuke’s voice had raised. Ponyo knew that it wasn’t a fair argument, but she never though he would raise his voice at her.

“No, you’re doing this for yourself. You don’t care what I want, do you?” Tears threatened to fall from her eyes, but she wiped them away harshly, her sorrow masked by the burning anger she felt in her tired state.

“I gave up everything to be human for you, and you can’t even listen to what I’m trying to say!” she squealed, spinning herself out of Sousuke’s hold and storming out of their room. Sousuke went to follow her, but was met with the door slamming in his face. With a sigh, he let himself fall back onto his bed.

 

* * *

 

Ponyo sat on the couch, staring out the sliding door into the inky blackness of the night. Her face rested on her knees as she thought of ways to lessen the red hot anger burning in her stomach. The cushion next to her dipped, and Ponyo glanced over at the newcomer. Lisa say next to her, two teacups in her hands, steaming. She set the hot cups on the coffee table and pulled Ponyo into her arms.

“Rough night?” she asked, petting down the skewed hairs on Ponyo’s head. Ponyo simply nodded and let herself be pulled into Lisa’s embrace. “Koichi and I could her the two of you from our room, seems like things got a little heated. What are you doing moping on the couch though?”

Ponyo’s frown deepened, “I don’t have anywhere else to go. I don’t want to be in our room together.” She almost regretted never allowing herself her own space. Lisa sighed, her breath tickling Ponyo’s scalp.

“I think I have a place,” she said finally, “I was hoping Koichi and I could use it for a weekend soon, but you seem like you need it more.” Ponyo shook her head immediately, feeling guilty that Lisa would give up something that seemed important for her. “No, no, it’s okay Ponyo, I’ll get some time with both of my boys at home, that’s enough for me.” Lisa insisted, motioning for Ponyo to get up. Ponyo scrambled up from the couch, turning to help Lisa up.

The two of them slipped on shoes and light jackets, heading out into the night. Lisa led Ponyo down the familiar cliff path, the one that Sousuke had found her on so many years ago. Walking along the edge of the water, a small dock sprouted from the cliff side a short distance away from where she and Sousuke used to play. Docked at the end was a boat, much smaller than the fishing and freight boat that dry docked nearby, but much bigger than the boats the locals used for casual use.

“It’s a houseboat. Koichi bought it with his last bonus. It’s fully stocked with about a week’s worth of food and-” Lisa was cut off as Ponyo’s arms clasped around her.

“Thank you.” she said softly, burying her face in Lisa’s chest.

Within the hour, Ponyo was led through the instructions for the boat and shown where everything was. With a final hug and a wave, Ponyo pulled up the anchor and set off into the bay. Lisa waved from the dock, watching Ponyo drift further away.

**Author's Note:**

> Please comment, leave kudos, and let me know how I'm doing!


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